The Yankees have done the Wild Card Game thing before. A few too many times for my liking, in fact. The Yankees lost the 2015 Wild Card Game to the Astros and they beat the Twins in the 2017 Wild Card Game. Maybe mix in a division title one of these years? Could be cool. Anyway, the nerves have been building throughout the day. At this point, I’m just ready to get this thing started. Let’s go.
If nothing else, the Yankees go into tonight’s winner-take-all game playing well. They went 9-4 in their final 13 regular season games and scored 88 runs in those 13 games. Geez. Almost seven runs per game, on average. The Athletics went 7-7 in their final 14 regular season games. A little stumble to the finish. Doesn’t make me feel any better about tonight though. A few quick notes before the game:
- Yankee Stadium joins PNC Park as the only ballparks to host three Wild Card Games. The 2013-15 NL Wild Card Games were in Pittsburgh. The 2015, 2017, and 2018 AL games were in the Bronx.
- Luis Severino will become the third pitcher (and first right-hander) to start two Wild Card Games, joining Jon Lester (2014, 2018) and Madison Bumgarner (2014, 2016). Two Wild Card Game starts for Bumgarner, two complete-game shutouts. What a beast.
- Andrew McCutchen will become the first player to play in four Wild Card Games. He played in those 2013-15 games with the Pirates. Neil Walker can also play in his fourth Wild Card Game if he comes off the bench. He played in those 2013-15 games with the Pirates as well.
- The A’s ranked dead last with a .262 wOBA against 95+ mph fastballs this season. That suggests Severino and the bullpen are a good matchup for Oakland’s lineup. We’ll see.
An entire 162-game season hangs in the balance tonight. The Yankees and Athletics had the third and fourth best records in baseball this season, respectively, and one of them is going home tonight. Hardly seems fair, but, if you don’t like it, win more ballgames. Here are tonight’s starting lineups:
New York Yankees
1. LF Andrew McCutchen
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. CF Aaron Hicks
4. DH Giancarlo Stanton
5. 1B Luke Voit
6. SS Didi Gregorius
7. 3B Miguel Andujar
8. C Gary Sanchez
9. 2B Gleyber Torres
RHP Luis Severino
Oakland Athletics
1. LF Nick Martini
2. 3B Matt Chapman
3. 2B Jed Lowrie
4. DH Khris Davis
5. 1B Matt Olson
6. RF Stephen Piscotty
7. CF Ramon Laureano
8. SS Marcus Semien
9. C Jonathan Lucroy
RHP Liam Hendriks
Pretty great night for a ballgame in the Bronx. It is mostly clear and cool with a nice breeze. Good timing for this game. It rained pretty hard last night and it’s supposed to rain tomorrow night too. First pitch is scheduled for 8:08pm ET — the baseline introductions will begin around 7:40pm ET, though I’m not sure if they’ll be shown on television — and you can watch on TBS. You can also stream the game on TBS.com. Enjoy the game, folks. Have your barf bag ready.
Closer Update: Aroldis Chapman will be the closer tonight, according to Aaron Boone. I had a feeling they wanted him to be the guy.